Nicolas Cage

Academy Award-winner Nicolas Cage is one of the most versatile actors of all time, equally known for his poignant portrayals in both drama and comedy. GFORCE marks the sixth of Cage's seven collaborations with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, following The Rock, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds, National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which recently got underway at New York locations with National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub at the helm.

Cage last appeared in the thriller Knowing, which opened as the No. 1 film in the U.S. in March 2009. His memorable performance as an alcoholic drinking himself to death in the MGM drama Leaving Las Vegas, directed by Mike Figgis, earned him an Academy Award as well as Golden Globe and Best Actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics and the National Board of Review. Cage further solidified his leading man status when he received Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations for his dual role as twin brothers Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Spike Jonze's quirky comedy, Adaptation, which also co-starred Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper.

Cage wrapped production in October 2008 on Werner Herzog's reimagining of the 1992 critically acclaimed film Bad Lieutenant in which he plays the title role. Cage recently lent his voice for the animated feature Astro Boy, which will be released on October 23, 2009. He also wrapped production on the Charles Roven-produced epic Season of the Witch, filming on location in Budapest.

Cage portrayed Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider, based on the Marvel Comic book character, directed and written by Mark Steven Johnson. The film immediately set a new record as the highest-grossing opening film for the President's Day weekend in 2007. Cage's other recent starring roles include Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, Gore Verbinski's The Weather Man and Andrew Niccol's Lord of War. He was also heard as the voice of Zoc in the animated film The Ant Bully.

In the fall of 2002, Cage made his film directorial debut, Sonny. Cage cast an impressive group of actors, including Golden Globe winner James Franco, Mena Suvari, Brenda Blethyn and Harry Dean Stanton. The film was accepted at the 2002 Deauville Film Festival. Golden Circle Films, Vortex Pictures and Cage's Saturn Films produced the picture.

Cage's production company, Saturn Films, produced the 2002 Universal Pictures film The Life of David Gale, and in 2000 the critically acclaimed Lions Gate film Shadow of a Vampire.

Cage's many other films include Bangkok Dangerous, Next, The Wicker Man, Matchstick Men, Windtalkers, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Family Man, Bringing Out the Dead, 8MM, Snake Eyes, City of Angels, Face/Off, Kiss of Death, Guarding Tess, It Could Happen to You, Red Rock West, Honeymoon in Vegas, Joel and Ethan Coen's Raising Arizona, Vampire's Kiss, Peggy Sue Got Married, Valley Girl, Racing with the Moon, The Cotton Club and Rumble Fish. It was Cage's portrayal of a tormented Vietnam vet in Birdy that first established him as a serious actor. Directed by Alan Parker, Birdy won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Cage then received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor for his role as Cher's lover in Moonstruck. David Lynch's Wild at Heart, starring Cage and Laura Dern, won the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

Some of Cage's other honors include a 1993 Golden Globe nomination for his role in Honeymoon in Vegas, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Montreal World Film Festival in 1996, the first-ever Distinguished Decade in Film Award at ShoWest in 2001, and he was honored by the prestigious American Cinematheque in 2001.

Cage was raised in Long Beach, California, and lived there until his family moved to San Francisco when he was 12. Cage began acting at age 15 when he enrolled in San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre. He later moved to Los Angeles, and while still a high school student landed a role in the television film The Best of Times. He made his feature film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.